Full Judgment
(Prayer: This writ petition is filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India praying to quash the order dated 21.03.2013 passed by the Labour officer and Authority under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, Sub Division-1, Bangalore as per Annexure-B, etc.)
1. The petitioner principal employer having engaged the services of contract employees through a contract and when arraigned as party respondent in a proceeding under Minimum Wages Act for short payment of wages to the contract employees, by the Contractor, suffered an order directing it to pay difference of wages and compensation. Hence the petition.
2. Although Sri. B.L. Sanjeev, learned Counsel for the petitioner submits that in similar such matters, this Court has taken a lenient view and exonerated the petitioner from payment of compensation, the submission is unacceptable. Section 21 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970 (for short the Act), is applicable to the petitioner, and being a principal employer is saddled with the responsibility to pay wages under Sub-Section (2). In other words, the principal employer has to ensure that the contractors/workers are paid the minimum wages. It is needless to refer to a catena of decisions of the Apex Court and that of this Court on the said statutory compulsion.
3. In fact, Chapter 6 of the Act provides for Penalties and Procedures, which includes prosecution for contravention of the provisions of the Act. Petitioner is not prosecuted but is directed to pay compensation.
4. The contract workers are entitled to minimum wages and failure to make payment by the contractors/ principal employers, deserve to be dealt with by the strong arm of law. Petitioner ought to be satisfied that the authorities have not initiated prosecution proceeding. The direction to pay compensation for failure to make payment of minimum wages cannot but be said to be just and proper.
5. Sub Section (4) of Section 21 of the Act entitles the principal employer to recover the amount paid by it from the contractor either by effecting deduction from out of the amount payable by him or under the contract or as debt payable by the contractor.
6. In that view of the matter, it is for the petitioner to recover not only the difference of minimum wages not paid by the contractor, but also the compensation ordered by the authority in the order impugned. Petition devoid of merit is dismissed.